Ever wished growing your email list was as easy as 1,2,3 and go? Yes, as a business marketer, I have been there and done that. In fact, I continue to do so often.

The truth is, with so many businesses competing in the digital space, it is getting increasingly difficult for brands to make their mark and acquire their customers. They struggle to not just get their attention on various channels, but also nudge them to make even the smallest of interaction with them on any one of those channels. Getting them to subscribe to their email lists is probably the last thing they expect and one of the biggest challenges they face.

We worked closely with Fos Sto Tunnel and are here to share the effective solution that bagged them 1,700% more email subscribers!

Yes, you heard that right.

Fos Sto Tunnel is one of the most successful TV programmes in Greece that people like to tune into. It’s a TV show that investigates unsolved missing person cases with a hint of mystery behind each episode, keeping the watchers on their toes at all times.

The show also holds a prominent position in the Guinness Book of World Records and has been awarded by many non-profit organizations for the contributions it has made over the years.

Even the show has a huge following in Greece, Anikolouli.gr – the official page for the most popular TV programmes in Greece, consistently struggled to build an email list.

Why did they want to build an email list?

Pretty simple.

There are thousands of TV shows that are airing today and watchers tend to get distracted by a great plot easily. In order to not lose their watchers, it is important for them to find a way to constantly interact with them and keep them engaged with their popular shows – including Fos Sto Tunnel.

Whether it was sharing highlights of a previous episode or giving them sneak peeks into the next season, it was important to find a channel which was more direct than social media – that is, email.

While they did have a signup form on all their web pages, it did not yield too many subscribers. The reason? They didn’t see a reason to subscribe to something they can tune into on a daily basis – obviously, now consumers don’t care about what your business goals are.

So how did they grow their email list by 1,700%?

By highlighting what the subscriber is going to achieve from it, of course!

Since Anikolouli.gr has a very specific audience that would be interested in receiving news and updates about their favourite shows, we decided to use the same as a bait to anyone who visits their website.

But the trick here was to not offer any incentives – like what would you offer to someone who is watching a TV show at home? Popcorn? Not possible.

So we just decided to use a little bit of human psychology to get the subscribers. We let them try browse through the TV shows on the site and watch what they like, letting them do so and consume the content at their very own pace.

Based on the show they showed an interest towards, we simply triggered an on-site retargeting campaign nudging the watcher to get updates from the show he was just watching. The message was contextual to his interests and he was automatically more likely to subscribe on the campaign.

Although the copy simply said that he would receive updates about the show, it performed 100X better than the conventional subscription boxes on their site.

Yes, we growth hacked their email list with a mix of human psychology and browsing behaviour. The right mix of technology, marketing and timing, the campaign generated 1,700% more subscribers in just 6 months – compared to the pace at which their email list was growing, we certainly had a winner!

In one of our previous posts, we discussed how retargeting your website visitors on exit intent is more effective than on their entry. It gives them time to understand what your business does, what they will gain by interacting with you at their own pace and you don’t seem too pushy to get sales either. 😉

Ready to hack your email list?

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Vanhishikha Bhargava

Content Marketer at Exit Bee. Most of the times found trying to create compelling copies for blogs and digital campaigns, keeping a watch on what's happening on social media or ranting on Twitter. At all other times, not found.

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